Amelia Grace (Peters) Bingham died Monday, December 20, 2021, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Plymouth at the age of 98. A beloved family matriarch and respected Elder of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Amelia was the Clan Mother of the Turtle Clan. In addition to being an extraordinarily loving wife and mother amongst many other things, Amelia was a dedicated and fearless advocate for the preservation of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe historically, culturally, and politically.
Amelia was born on February 6, 1923, in Boston, Massachusetts to Mashpee Selectman of 27 years, Steven Amos Peters and Clara Jane (Miles) Peters. She was the eldest child and last surviving of eight children. Amelia attended the Samuel G. Davis School in Mashpee and as a young teen she became a selectman’s secretary for her father, handling tribal documents and visiting elders gaining historical memoirs. She was a graduate of Lawrence High School in Falmouth, MA in 1941.
Following graduation, she married Lt. Col George G. Bingham Jr. together they had 8 beautiful children. Alongside her family her true passion was for art, fashion and design which was inspired from attending Vesper George School of Art, with a concentration in interior design. Her work as an interior decorator for the New Seabury Model Homes was featured in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, highlighting her creative expertise and flare for color to many Cape Cod homes. Her home in Mashpee, which runs alongside the Mashpee River, served as her beautiful family’s homestead. It was a unique gem that she maintained impeccably until her passing.
As a military wife, Amelia took up residence at several military establishments internationally and nationally before returning to Mashpee in 1966 where the then retired Lt. Colonel became the Mashpee Chief of Police. Upon returning to her childhood hometown Amelia was struck by the conditions of tribal landmarks. She became the founding director of the Mashpee Historical Commission and campaigned to preserve several historic buildings including the Parsonage, the Avant homestead, the One Room Schoolhouse, and the Old Indian Meetinghouse. She spearheaded the efforts to restore the Meetinghouse for community use and the Avant house where she established the Mashpee Wampanoag Museum, also becoming the Founding Director.
During this time, she had also become keenly aware of growth and development in Mashpee and began to oversee tribal interests which resulted in her becoming Principal Founder of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council Inc. in 1972. This is presently known as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Inc. that to this day provides political leadership. Amelia was instrumental in the early 1970’s with a land lawsuit which was developed in efforts to preserve Mashpee tribal land. She was a firm believer that the future of the tribe was only as strong as its next generation, one of the reasons she received the first federal funding for cultural education. She became the Director of the Title IV Indian Education Program for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe establishing protocol and curriculum for native students.
Overall, Amelia was a tenacious and fearless champion for Mashpee Wampanoag justice historically, educationally and politically. She traveled to Washington, DC many times to lobby for tribal interests ranging from education to the restoration of tribal ancestral homelands in Mashpee. Amelia was responsible for providing resourceful documentation that helped The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe gain federal recognition in 2007.
Her sharp advocacy and intellect could not be ignored, and Amelia was invited to participate in many capacities informing social and political programs to improve tribal conditions. In 1974, she was the first woman to serve as Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was a consultant to the state legislature, the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management. She was a board member and delegate to the National Congress of American Indians and the Northeast Coordinator of the White House Conference on Indian Education. She also took great pride for being the Coordinator of Native American Performances for the World Festival in France. Amelia established the Mashpee Wampanoag Community Economic Development, Inc. in 1982.
As an independent tribal researcher, historian and author she composed many papers. In 1970, she compiled and published a book of brief tribal history, Mashpee: Land of the Wampanoags. In 2012 she published a more telling volume in her book Seaweed’s Revelation, A Wampanoag Clan Mother in Contemporary America. Amelia traveled nationally and internationally representing the tribe and lecturing on tribal history and culture at colleges and universities.
Amelia is survived by six of her eight children, Steven P. Bingham Sr. and wife Michelle of Boston; Michelle O. Romano of Maryland; Beverly Bingham of Boston; Christopher L. Bingham and wife Lynn of Las Vegas, NV; Peter A. Bingham Sr. and wife Rebecca of Mashpee; Ricky R. Bingham and wife Melody of Las Vegas, NV; Marla F. Bingham and her husband Gary of San Diego, CA; and two adopted twin grandchildren Tara Bingham DeGaetano and her husband Robert of Douglas, MA; and Mark Bingham and his wife Lee of Framingham. She also leaves 15 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, 5 great-great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Preceding Amelia in death was her parents Steven and Clara Peters, her husband Lt Col Ret George G. Bingham Jr, two sons, Mark V. Bingham, George G. Bingham III, her brothers: Steven Jr., John, Russell, Randolph Peters, sisters: Clara Keliinui, Muriel McKinney, and Ann Brown.
A celebration of Amelia’s life will be held in the spring of 2022 on a date to be later announced.
